Solo Exhibition – Isabelle Grobler
‘The Meatgrinder Madrigal’
curated by Andrew Lamprecht
The latest exhibition by young South African artist Isabelle Grobler is likely to provoke, intrigue, shock and delight, in equal measure. Known for her sculptural installations which metamorphose industrial found objects into fleshy organic forms; here Grobler focuses on two-dimensional works for the most part. In 'The Meatgrinder Madrigal', the artist spins a dense and complex web of narrative, allusion and dark humour to create a new mythos, making classical works from art history serve as her ‘found objects’. Paintings, drawings and prints operate in a space that uniquely reflects this innovative and exciting artist’s inimitable imagination and quirky take on “the life we live now”, conveyed in the form of a magnificent and meandering creation epic.
Reflecting and critiquing the banalities, complexities and eccentricities of suburbia, Grobler creates a larger-than-life tableau of creation, self-discovery and inevitable fall. Typical of her work, dark humour suffuses these works, jockeying with a real sense of revulsion for the trappings of contemporary consumerist society and the compromises required to appear as ‘normal’ in the modern world.
The exhibition stands as a painterly sculptural installation: a story conveyed on canvas. In its defying of the strictures of its two-dimensional bounds, it is an exercise in organic growth (perhaps gone wild). 'The Meatgrinder Madrigal' promises to give a heady insight into the way that contemporary painting is able to defy language and to present commentary without recourse to words.
A performance by the artist on the opening night will activate the body of work and leave integral traces throughout the gallery space for the duration of the show.
Image credit: Isabelle Grobler The Swing (Diptych) 2018 Enamel on canvas 61x132cm
The exhibition opens on Tuesday 12 June 2018 at 18:30 - 20:30, and runs until 28 July 2018 EXTENDED.
To view or download the catalogue please click here
